A review by readingwithhippos
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
4.0
This is one of those twisty, many-tentacled novels that eventually come together in the end in surprising ways. It all starts in 1967, when a group of four women scientists invent a time machine. The machine only allows travel to time periods after the machine was invented, and time travelers aren’t able to substantially change events. Some sections of the story take place back in the ‘60s, some take place roughly in present day, and of course some characters exist in multiple timelines at different ages.
When I describe the nitty-gritty details, the book sounds dense and confusing, but the reading experience isn’t like that at all. It feels like you’re unraveling a mystery like a tightly wound ball of yarn. Barbara, one of the scientists who suffers a mental breakdown after time travel, and her granddaughter Ruby are incredibly compelling characters, and I was completely sucked into their lives. Intense, brilliant but callous Margaret was fascinating in an entirely different (scary) way. I think this would appeal to readers of both literary fiction and speculative fiction--it’s very smart but doesn’t get bogged down in the scientific minutiae. It’s more concerned with the effects of time travel on people and what power like that could do to change a person.
When I describe the nitty-gritty details, the book sounds dense and confusing, but the reading experience isn’t like that at all. It feels like you’re unraveling a mystery like a tightly wound ball of yarn. Barbara, one of the scientists who suffers a mental breakdown after time travel, and her granddaughter Ruby are incredibly compelling characters, and I was completely sucked into their lives. Intense, brilliant but callous Margaret was fascinating in an entirely different (scary) way. I think this would appeal to readers of both literary fiction and speculative fiction--it’s very smart but doesn’t get bogged down in the scientific minutiae. It’s more concerned with the effects of time travel on people and what power like that could do to change a person.